Get There: April 13, 2008 - April 19, 2008

Here are some tips that might help you plan your travels. Beltway Delays Drivers should avoid the Capital Beltway around the Branch Avenue interchange from Saturday night until early Sunday afternoon, as the Maryland State Highway Administration sets steel for a ramp over the highway. Delays are likely to be extensive. If you're traveling long distance, consider using the western side of the Beltway or heading east to Route 301. Douglass Bridge Closure After initial tests on the South Capitol Street bridge's swing span Friday evening, the District Department of Transportation has decided that more testing in necessary. So the bridge will close again at 10 p.m. Saturday and is scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. Sunday. Track Work Resumes After a month off for busy local travel periods, Metro has restarted its endless weekend track maintenance program. Delays are occurring on the Red, Blue, Yellow and Orange lines through...

The National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration are in the final phase of the year-long reconstruction of Rock Creek Parkway between P Street and Virginia Avenue. This weekend is the scheduled time for some repaving along the southbound curb lane and ramps. The curb lane is scheduled to close after noon today. The P Street ramps, the K Street ramps and the Pennsylvania Avenue ramp along the southbound parkway are scheduled to close during the afternoon rush period. The ramps should be reopened by 6:30 Monday morning. The right lane is scheduled to reopen by late Tuesday. Three travel lanes will be open both northbound and southbound during the paving operations, the park service says. (This is the work originally scheduled for last weekend.) The entire project is scheduled for completion in May....

The last of the week's traffic restrictions left town at 9 a.m. along with Pope Benedict XVI, who took off for New York from Andrews Air Force Base. Though there was a no parking zone on Massachusetts Avenue from Wisconsin Avenue to Observatory Circle and a one lane limitation on Massachusetts from Observatory Circle to 34th Street, all of that ended this morning. This week was an unusual challenge for our transportation system. So many days, so many locations. This wasn't another VIP going from place to place for closed meetings with other VIPs. This was a person people came from across the country to see. As a result, Metro was extra crowded and traffic backed up where streets were closed. But the plans worked out pretty well. The shutdown of the Douglass Bridge for Thursday's mass at Nationals Park slowed traffic but did create a memorable traffic jam. (That...

Watch for rolling street closures as the pope travels across town to his final events in Washington this afternoon. At 5 p.m., Pope Benedict XVI addresses Catholic educators at Catholic University on Michigan Avenue, east of North Capitol Street in Brookland. At 6:30 p.m., meets with interfaith leaders at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center at 3900 Harewood Road NE. There may be more passengers than usual on the Red Line heading for Brookland Station, near Catholic University. The Douglass Bridge and South Capitol Street have reopened for the afternoon commute. Friday: -- There are no papal events in the capital Friday. The pope will travel from the Vatican Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue at Observatory Circle to Andrews Air Force Base during the morning rush. -- The no parking zone on Massachusetts Avenue from Wisconsin Avenue to Observatory Circle and the one lane limitation on Massachusetts from Observatory Circle...

The exit from the papal mass at Nationals Park on South Capitol Street should create a surge of traffic and some additional crowding on Metrorail. But it shouldn't be as difficult as this morning's combination of commuters and worshipers. Crowd at Navy Yard Metro station, 8 o'clock this morning. (Thomson) Metro will maintain peak service through 7 p.m. (though the reduced fares remain in place until the afternoon rush). That should help a lot. And what I observed this morning gives me confidence in the transportation system for the rest of today. Because the Douglass Bridge was shut and the trains were bound to be crowded, I feared the worst. But what I saw this morning was far from the worst. Interstate 295 and Suitland Parkway were crowded near the junction that leads to the 11th Street Bridge, but I saw worse last July when the Douglass Bridge was shut...

Among the hundreds of people crammed into Green Line trains this morning, it was easy to distinguish between the worshipers bound for the papal mass and the commuters. The worshipers were smiling. Crowd covers Navy Yard Station platform this morning. (Thomson) Their attitude helped ease some very crowded trips on Metrorail. Navy Yard Station, where passengers got off for the short walk to mass at Nationals Park, was crowded but calm. It took about five minutes to clear the platform after a train arrived from downtown, compared to about three minutes before recent Nationals baseball games. The worst crowding I saw was at the L'Enfant Plaza, where the platform was lined at least four deep with riders transfering from the Orange and Blue lines. My Green Line train already was jammed with standees when it arrived at L'Enfant shortly before 7:30 a.m. Metro staffers on the platform helped ease the...

Standing atop the Anacostia Metro garage: I can see that traffic is very heavy on I-295, on the Suitland Parkway and other approaches to the 11th Street Bridge. Traffic is diverting from the closed Frederick Douglass Bridge and instead traffic is taking detour routes that most veteran commuters are familiar with from shutdown of the Douglass Bridge last summer. Traffic was okay on 11th Street Bridge. (Thomson) While traffic is very heavy here this morning, it's not as bad as the first few days of last summer's Douglass Bridge shutdown. Commuters have either learned some new routes or are are avoiding the area today. On Metro rail: The Greenline is extremely heavy this morning, as would be expected. Hundreds of people are crowding onto the trains heading toward the Navy Yard Station. You can tell the difference between the worshippers and the commuters: The worshippers are smiling! (And I mean...

Transportation officials have closed streets around the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the pope's motorcade has just ended. He is at the Basilica and District transportation officials say the streets are relatively clear. There was some concern that traffic could back up on North Capitol Street, but traffic cameras at North Capitol and Rhode Island Avenue seem to show traffic moving smoothly. These are the street closures for this afternoon and evening around the Basilica: Michigan Avenue, NE from Monroe Street to Irving Street: 3 pm - 8 pm 4th Street, NE north of Lincoln Road: 3 pm - 8 pm Harewood Road, NE from Taylor Street to Michigan Avenue: 3 pm - 8 pm A full schedule of the street closures for tomorrow is at www.ddot.gov. Although the Brookland Metro station on the Red Line was very busy today, Metro officials report no incidents....

Thursday morning's rush will be highly unusual, even for a region that takes a twisted pride in standing among the national leaders in traffic and transit congestion. My concern is focused on events in Southeast Washington, but the impact on drivers and transit users will ripple out from there. Tens of thousands of people will be trying to reach Nationals Park for the papal mass. Tens of thousands of drivers and Metro riders will be trying to get around them to reach their workplaces. Planning Points The Douglass Bridge and part of South Capitol Street near Nationals Park will be closed for security and logistics throughout the morning commute. The District Department of Transportation advises commuters to do what they did last summer when the bridge was shut for reconstruction. The main detour for this major commuter route is the 11th Street Bridge. Alternative approaches from the east are East...

The pope's procession moved quickly west along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, but traffic congestion lingers behind. The cameras on trafficland.com show some downtown intersections clear while others remain jammed with traffic. Next up: Afternoon rush hour traffic up North Capitol Street will have a very difficult time in the Brookland neighborhood. The pope meets with U.S. bishops at the National Shrine on Michigan Avenue in Brookland, just east of North Capitol Street at 5:30 p.m. If that's your normal northbound commuting route, you might be better off sliding west to 13th, 14th or 16th streets NW, or heading east along New York Avenue to the Baltimore Washington Parkway. But that's not to say any route will be clear sailing this afternoon. The city is very crowded with cars and pedestrians. The pope will cut across town to reach the Brookland area, so watch for those rolling closures in...

Pennsylvania Avenue NW is clear of traffic and lined with police and spectators awaiting the Popemobile procession. Pope Benedict XVI's route takes up west on Pennsylvania through Washington Circle, which is closed to pedestrian cross traffic. He'll go up Rock Creek Parkway to Massachusetts Avenue NW before arriving at the Vatican Embassy on Observatory Circle. Unless you're going to see the pope, that western sector of Washington is a place to avoid for the next couple of hours....

Here's what thousands of people will be trying to get to or avoid today: 10:30 a.m. Pope Benedict XVI, who is staying at the Vatican Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue NW, meets with President Bush at the White House. Noon Popemobile procession from the White House west on Pennsylvania Avenue NW to Washington Circle, to Rock Creek Parkway to Massachusetts Avenue to the embassy. 5:30 p.m. The pope meets with U.S. bishops at the National Shrine on Michigan Avenue in Brookland, just east of North Capitol Street. So the traffic hotspots are Massachusetts Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW and the North Capitol Street/Michigan Avenue area, but expect the effects to ripple out from those corridors. Transit is likely to be crowded today. Many commuters who have the option will turn to Metro, because of the likelihood of congestion in central Washington during the pope's visit. Many visitors also will be parking...

Pope Benedict XVI has arrived at the Vatican Embassy on Observatory Circle, and that's it for his travels today. However, Massachusetts Avenue is one one lane each way in the vicinity of the circle and it's best to avoid that area through Friday morning, when the pope leaves for New York....

With Pope Benedict XVI scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base at 4 p.m., there's likely to be some extra traffic congestion late in this evening's rush period. The exact route the pope will take into the District has not been made public, for security reasons, but it's a good bet there will be congestion on Massachusetts Avenue around Observatory Circle, where the Vatican Embassy is located. In fact, since parts of Massachusetts Avenue will be restricted during the next few days, it would be best to avoid that area from this afternoon through Friday morning. From 5 p.m. today through 9 a.m. Friday: -- No truck traffic will be allowed on Massachusetts Avenue between Wisconsin Avenue and Observatory Circle. -- Massachusetts Avenue between Observatory Circle and 34th Street will be one lane in each direction. If that's part of your regular commuting route, try Wisconsin Avenue, Connecticut Avenue...

With a world spiritual leader visiting so many places in the capital over so many days, District Transportation Director Emeka Moneme rightly refers to the "unknown unknowns" in describing what planners confront today through Friday morning. Despite all the interagency planning and the public awareness campaign, some transportation problem will occur during the pope's visit that we're not talking about right now. So if you can work from home, Wednesday and Thursday are the days to do it. Otherwise, Metrorail is your best bet. But Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. offered this advice for both commuters and visitors: "Come early" and "understand it will be crowded." Moneme and Catoe spoke to reporters outside WTOP radio this morning, after an hour-long discussion of transit issues, which you can hear by using this link. Here's some of the advice they're giving out today. Train riders who park at Metro stations...

Here is some advice about traffic hot spots during the pope's visit to Washington, which begins during this afternoon's rush and ends Friday morning. -- Worst Bet: Expecting events to begin and end at the scheduled times. -- Best Bet: Getting to your seat for the 10 a.m. papal mass at Nationals Park by 8:30 a.m. -- The worst congestion is likely to occur tomorrow and Thursday. -- Avoid Massachusetts Avenue NW around Observatory Circle all week. That's the neighborhood where the pope will be staying. Commuters can try Wisconsin Avenue, Connecticut Avenue and 16th Street NW as alternatives or take Metro's Red Line. Crosstown traffic could use Garfield Street, Cleveland Avenue and Calvert Street. -- The streets around North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue NE are likely to be congested tomorrow and Thursday as the pope attends events in Brookland. -- Popemobile Procession: Noon tomorrow from the White House,...